I was fired in June with most of you despite decades (yes, decades!) of HS's and E's on my CFE and positive 360's. My manager was decent about it and when I asked what difference my high performance made in the decision she honestly told me it made no difference at all, it didn't even factor into the decision. What is the value of the CFE then? Does anyone really believe in them or did we just do them because HR told us to? I read more and more companies are doing away with the annual reports. If they really don't matter at times like this, then when do they matter?
12 replies (most recent on top)
CFE are a joke. No matter what you are told people are forced ranked.
Some managers do not write them and for good reasons. Very time consuming and again a waste.
I heard many E band leaders do not write them and it seems ok but I know others in certain areas of the business get pushed to write them even tho no one really values them.
I also challenged by manager with the same argument while he was fumbling over my layoff. In what I think was an act of desperation, he said he had been collecting negative feedback from my coworkers for three years while giving me steady HS CFEs. The HR rep in the room just looked at him in shock. He didn't have an answer for not sharing the feedback or why he never mentioned anything before. He said he couldn't give even one example because they were supposed to be anonymous. He kept rambling on but the HR rep interrupted him and said my firing had nothing to do with my performance. She couldn't hide her obvious contempt for my manager. The look on her face was the last honest moment I had at Nike. I used those same HS CFEs to help land a new job in less than four weeks. I guess they served some purpose after all.
@5zbe "popular>effective" is the anchor theorem of Fortune 500 organizational management
"It's more important to be popular than effective"
This single quote is the best descriptor of the company I've ever seen.
@jxk, I was following you on the cfe thing until you revealed your closet racist Trumpism, I believe with that attitude they did it right getting you canned. Don't need kkk at Nike. With that said I agree with the cfe comments on this thread. It's BS.
I manager used to tell me she hated the CFE, hated the 360, hated the forced feedback, hated everything about the whole system. Then she just stopped doing them. When I asked she said she only had to put the rating in the system and no one noticed she didn't do the write up. She said she only needed to do the write up if someone was I or U. I do consulting work now. The only rating I care about is the check I receive from the customer.
I started with a new company last month. They did away with annual ratings two years ago. The HR manager here said it caused more problems, more complaints and more lawsuits. The managers didn't know how to use it. The form kept getting longer and longer. They hired a consultant who recommended they trash the whole thing. Everyone is happy.
6 consecutive ratings of HS in building team success, a mix of S/HS in overall ratings, now that the lump sump severance has hit, about to move on to a competitor and put a few final nails in the coffin in the category I used to work on.
100% OP. The ratings do not matter. It's all smoke and mirrors to dole out bonuses and raises to preferred employees. It happens when your manager submits a HS and you only get a S from the big boss, b/c there's only so much money to be handed out at the bottom. Countless times management has spilled the beans that even though you were out-performing your peers...that there's only so many people who can get a HS, b/c there's only so much money JM-4 is willing to let the bottom 80% of the company get rewarded with. 'Got to work harder boys and girls'
One former robotic brand VP with his beatles glasses would repeatedly tell his team that not everyone can be HS or S. Some people have to get 'I's or Unsuccessfuls. This is during the most profitable last few years. Those at the top are so far removed from those actually doing the work...it's just a numbers game. We've got 10 dollars to spend...and 9 of them go to the 'leads' while the $1 dollar is split among those working their asses off.
Just keep dangling that carrot I say.... I asked several times what it would take to get a HS and when I finally got one (when I was doing the job of a band above me for 1.5 years) they told me that my bosses boss changed it to an S, but we graded you against that higher band above you. It was the biggest F- you I've ever received. There was no rhyme or reason...other than they have to keep the fat cats fat. You have to earn that next job by doing that job. Oh, okay. F- Face. Sounds like a way to not pay people what they are worth.
With some of the people not laid off...they are telling the truth. This had nothing to do with performance, b/c some of the worst performers are still there. I kinda laugh sometimes and smh when I think about it. It's what keeps my chin up actually. It wasn't personal. It was a numbers thing. MP, Good luck with those you decided to keep in some cases. Obviously...this is few and far between, b/c I know some great people there, but as a shareholder it concerns me the lack of thoughtfulness in this whole process.
MP is smokin that KB...since he didn't take time to do this properly and exit employees that were sh!tty for the business. It's all a numbers thing...so, in the end...they can rate people with an S. Tell them to work harder and give bonus to the fat cats. 'Not everyone can be successful'. more like... 'If I give them less...I can get more'. It's business. It capitalism. It's not fair, but it's life.
I think though...people are moving up the ranks after all these years and they are seeing how this is all going down and now 'in the know'...and I would imagine things may start to change or people will move on. Or maybe not...since they are getting paid...and there's pressure to keep that money rolling in.
CFE's as one person said...it only matters if they need to document sh!t on you to have you exit. HR doesn't give a f-. It's a tool to distract you from why you're not getting a bonus and decent raise.
Nike's MO for the longest time was just move the sh--tiest employees around to new positions. It seems like this is still the case...Just move them onto their next role. I can think of an younger black woman in retail brand NA who keeps getting promoted solely, b/c she is a POC. "Person of Color". She's awful at her job, hasn't done sh-- in years, but her boss another POC ...the head RB Lead in NA loooooooves her. Why? b/c she's a female 'person of color' (Nike's term not mine). It's a joke frankly. What can one say...other than...that's life and nike has designed it this way.
Or the MDP program...sure...after 1 year in 5 different jobs...you're totally qualified to run 2 businesses. I once applied to the MDP program and my boss told me that I would never get it, b/c I was 'white'. No joke. I was surprised...she came out and told me this. Don't get me wrong...I'm fully aware of institutionalized racism and white privilege, but as a shareholder... I don't give a f- what color the people who are doing the job. I want the sharpest, most hard working, tenacious person in the role.
I wanted to see the business do well...that's the bottom line.
p.s. how is the COO still there...dude totally dropped the f-ing ball with that DC opening? ugh. makes me ill.
Given HS, raise, bonus and 15 year award to layoff all in the span of a few of weeks. Makes you really scratch your head.
@qaq great post
I left Nike in 2014 and went into management consulting. Most large consulting companies have discontinued performance ratings, it does not work.
Annual performance ratings don't matter unless management wants you out. They are tools of intimidation, not reward. Same with the 360 reviews. Essentially, if you make nice enough you will get glowing reviews. It's more important to be popular than effective. I never had a formal CFE when I was there. My manager just entered my rating in HR. He told me it didn't matter unless I was unsuccessful. He only asked for feedback from the people I work with once. He said it was total b* and didn't even bother showing me the results. The company I am at now doesn't even do annual ratings. They do "on the spot feedback" instead. I can see the building cranes from my new digs. Sad to see so much money spent on concrete instead of people. A few less buildings could have paid for everyone fired.